Search

Rectangular roadway is widely used in coal mine as a type of roadway section with easy excavation, simple support and high space utilization. Yet it is difficult to analyze the state of its plastic zone in the surrounding rock because of complex stress distribution. This study conducted numerical simulation to investigate the expansion patterns of plastic zone in surrounding rock of the rectangular roadway with different width-to-height ratio in the non-uniform stress field. The mapping between the plastic zone shape, range and concentration position was compared with the corresponding circumcirble, based on which we proposed a analytical method for the equivalent circumscribed circle of the plastic zone in the surrounding rock of the rectangular roadway. The result show that: ① In the non-uniform stress field, the shape evolution of the plastic zone in the surrounding rock of the rectangular roadyway is consistent with that of the corresponding circumcircle roadway, exhibiting a round, oval and butterfly shape. ② When the width-height ratio ν of a rectangular roadway is less than 2 (which has met the actual needs of the field), the maximum radius of the plastic zone is less than 15 % of the corresponding circumcircle roadway. Smaller ν value leads to lower error between the two, and the error approximates 0 when the ν =1. ③ The butterfly leaf angle in the plastic zone of the rectangle and the corresponding circumcircle roadway exhibits convergence values between 34° and 39°, and the difference between their butterfly leaf angles is between 1° and 3° when ν is less than 2. ④ When the width-height ratio ν of a rectangular roadway is less than 2 in the non-uniform stress field, the shape, range and main concentration position of the plastic zone can be quantified using the equivalent circumscribed circle method.

Background Accessory breast plasma cell mastitis (PCM) is uncommon in clinical practice with rare reports. Objective To investigate the clinical characteristics, diagnostic methods and the traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) clinical efficacy of accessory breast PCM. Methods The clinical diagnosis and treatment data of 15 patients with accessory breast PCM admitted to Beijing Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Capital Medical University from January 2017 to December 2021 were analyzed retrospectively, the general information, diagnostic methods, treatment methods and outcomes of 15 cases with accessory breast PCM were summarized. Results A total of 15 female patients of childbearing age with accessory breast PCM were included in this paper, with onset within 2-5 years after pregnancy. The etiology was complex and the course of accessory breast PCM was protracted, which was similar to breast PCM in pathogenetic characteristics, using pathological examination results as gold standard for diagnosis. After the combination of internal and external treatment of TCM, the symptoms of 15 patients were relieved, local lesions disappeared, and there was no recurrence after six months of follow-up. Conclusion Accessory breast PCM is rare in clinical practice, which is easy to be misdiagnosed or missed, and difficult to be treated clinically. The combination of internal and external treatment of TCM has a significant effect on accessory breast PCM.

Background: Pericoronary adipose tissue (PCAT) attenuation, as assessed by coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA), has been identified as a marker of pericoronary inflammation and a predictor of future adverse atherosclerotic events. However, the impact of changes in PCAT attenuation, as evaluated by consecutive CCTAs, on plaque progression in high-risk atherosclerotic patients with improved modifiable cardiovascular risk factors (mCRFs) remains unclear. Methods: Consecutive patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) who had improved mCRFs and underwent serial, clinically indicated CCTA examinations (time interval ≥ 12 months) at our center between July 2019 and July 2022 were screened. Eligible participants had at least one study plaque, defined as a plaque without significant anatomic stenosis, located in one of the major coronary arteries, which had not been intervened upon or caused adverse events between serial CCTA scans. Percent atheroma volume (PAV) and PCAT attenuation were measured for each study plaque at baseline and follow-up using CCTA plaque analysis software. Changes in PAV (δPAV = follow-up PAV – baseline PAV) were compared based on changes in PCAT attenuation [δPCAT attenuation] (> 0 or ≤ 0). Multivariate linear regression models were used to evaluate the relationship between δPCAT attenuation and δPAV. Results: A total of 98 T2DM patients (mean age: 59.9 years; 75.3% men; 152 plaques) had mCRFs that reached therapeutic targets at follow-up CCTA. However, overall PAV progressed from baseline in all patients [(41.68 ± 12.47)% vs. (43.71 ± 12.24)%, p = 0.035], accompanied by an increase in coronary inflammation (i.e., PCAT attenuation) during a median follow-up of 13.5 months (interquartile range [IQR]: 12.2, 17.5 months).Compared to patients with δPCAT attenuation ≤ 0, those with δPCAT attenuation > 0 had a significantly greater increase in overall PAV from baseline [(4.09 ± 12.09)% vs. (-0.82 ± 10.74)%, p = 0.011], calcified PAV [1.57% (IQR: 0.13%, 3.84%) vs. 0.38% (IQR: -0.26%, 2.58%), p = 0.008], and a numerical but non-significant increase in non-calcified PAV [(1.29 ± 11.75)% vs. (-1.87 ± 10.47)%, p = 0.089]. Multivariate linear regression models demonstrated that increased PCAT attenuation was significantly associated with the progression of overall PAV (β = 0.339, 95% CI: 0.129–0.549), non-calcified PAV (β = 0.237, 95% CI: 0.019–0.455), and calcified PAV (β = 0.109, 95% CI: 0.019-0.200), independent of age, sex, cardiovascular risk factors, medications, and baseline PCAT attenuation and PAV (all p < 0.05). The effect of elevated PCAT attenuation on overall plaque progression was consistent across subgroups (all p for interaction > 0.05). Conclusion: In this longitudinal CCTA cohort of T2DM patients with improved mCRFs, increased pericoronary inflammation was associated with the progression of atherosclerotic plaque, particularly non-calcified plaque. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Ten cases with Dabie bandavirus infection were identified in Suzhou City, China, from April 2023 to August 2024. All 10 cases were hospitalized patients, and three died. We detected and analyzed the cytokine concentrations and viral genomes in the serum samples of these patients to identify the possible causes of the patients' deaths and to analyze the viral genetic characteristics. Methods: Blood serum specimens were obtained from the 10 individuals with Dabie bandavirus infection in Suzhou City. The specific nucleic acid of Dabie bandavirus was detected using a real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction assay (RT-qPCR). The cytokine concentrations in serum were detected by micro enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The genomes of Dabie bandavirus were amplified using a designated primer pool. The DNA sequencing libraries were prepared using a ligation method. The sequencing process was performed using a Nanopore GridION X5 instrument. Phylogenetic trees for the L, M, and S segments of Dabie bandavirus were constructed using the maximum likelihood (ML) method in MEGA 11 software, with the bootstrap value set at 1,000. Results: All 10 patients with Dabie bandavirus infection exhibited a severe clinical course, resulting in three fatalities. The cytokine concentrations of CCL2, GM-CSF, IFN-γ, IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8, and TNF-α were significantly elevated in the fatal patients compared with the recovered cases; all p -values for these cytokine analyses were under 0.05. The Dabie bandavirus strains identified in Suzhou belonged to three distinct genotypes: A, B, and F. The nucleotide identities for the L, M, and S segments were 95.65%–99.76%, 93.73%–99.81%, and 94.62%–99.88%, respectively. The average evolutionary rate of segment S was higher than that of segment M and segment L. The ratio of dN/dS in the membrane protein was the highest. SZ03-TXF was a recombinant strain with the location of possible breakpoints at nucleotides 795 and 1,432 in the CDS region of the L segment. Conclusion: A recombination event was identified in SZ03-TXF strain. High viral load and cytokine storm may be associated with the case fatality of Dabie bandavirus infection. We should strengthen the monitoring of nucleotide substitutions and conduct health education for high-risk populations so as to effectively prevent and control an epidemic of the Dabie bandavirus infection in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Polyps containing bizarre stromal cells are occasionally observed in the lower gynecologic tract, including the vagina, cervix, and endometrium, predominantly in perimenopausal or postmenopausal patients. These cases have traditionally been considered benign without subsequent recurrence or malignancy. Case presentation: We describe a rare instance of a rapid enlarging endometrial polyp characterized by atypical stromal cells in a 76-year-old postmenopausal woman, who presented with vaginal bleeding. Histologically, the polyp was noted for its abundance of atypical stromal cells interspersed among thick-walled vascular channels. Higher magnification revealed eosinophilic cytoplasm in the stromal cells, which exhibited both mono- and multinucleation, hyperchromasia with coarse chromatin, and an absence of conspicuous nucleoli and mitotic figures. A consensus among two of three consulting expert gynecological pathologists supported a benign endometrial polyp diagnosis; however, one pathologist raised the possibility of adenosarcoma, highlighting the diagnostic dilemma these unique lesions present. Despite a hysterectomy recommendation, the patient chose monitoring over immediate surgery. Persistent vaginal bleeding led to her return six months later, whereupon a 7-cm polypoid lesion in the endometrial cavity was found and removed via hysterectomy. The histopathology mirrored the initial findings, showing no myometrial invasion, prompting a re-evaluation of the presumed benign nature of the polyp given its rapid growth. Remarkably, RNA sequencing analysis of the polyp detected a JAK2::NFIB gene fusion, a novel finding for endometrial polyps with atypical stromal cells, the clinical implications of which remain to be elucidated. Conclusion: The rapid recurrence of the polyp within six months raises new questions about the true biological nature of these entities and the relevance of gene fusions like JAK2::NFIB in their pathogenesis, meriting further investigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to explore the diagnostic value of the two cytology techniques, including liquid-based cytology of mammary ductal lavage fluid and nipple discharge smear cytology, in the intraductal lesions in patients with pathological nipple discharge (PND). This retrospective analysis included 119 patients with PND who underwent surgical treatment. At the same time, they all underwent fiberoptic ductoscopy (FDS), nipple discharge smear cytology and liquid-based cytology of ductal lavage fluid before surgery. With postoperative pathological diagnosis as the gold standard, we compared the clinical diagnostic efficacy of the two cytology techniques applied independently and combined with FDS to evaluate their diagnostic value in intraductal lesions. Finally, the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves and the area under the curve (AUC) were used to evaluate the diagnostic value of each examination method. There were 22 breast malignant tumors, 75 intraductal papillomas and 22 non-tumorous lesions among the 119 PND patients. The cell types of liquid-based cytology of ductal lavage fluid was significantly more abundant than that of smear cytology, and the detection rate of tumor cells, atypia cells and atypical hyperplasia cells was significantly increased. The diagnostic accuracy and sensitivity of liquid-based cytology of ductal lavage fluid were significantly higher than that of smear cytology (P < 0.05). At the same time, the accuracy of liquid-based cytology was superior to that of smear cytology when combined with FDS (P < 0.05), and the diagnostic efficiency was excellent. FDS combined with liquid-based cytology of ductal lavage fluid was more effective than the other methods (AUC = 0.8182). When diagnosing the intraductal space-occupying lesions in PND patients, liquid-based cytology of ductal lavage fluid can obtain more abundant intraductal shed cells. This advantage can compensate for the limitation of FDS for diagnosing terminal ductal unit lesions and significantly improve the early diagnosis rate of intraductal lesions, especially intraductal malignant tumors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aiming at the problems of low energy efficiency and unstable operation in the optimal allocation of optical storage capacity in rural new energy microgrids, this paper proposes an optimization method based on two-layer multi-objective collaborative decision-making. First, an outer optimization objective function containing constraints on capacity allocation, line transmission security, charging and discharging power of the energy storage system, microgrid security, and power supply reliability was constructed, and an inner optimization objective function containing constraints on energy storage self-discharge correction and power balance was constructed. The quantum-behaved particle swarm optimization algorithm is used to solve the optimal solution set of the objective function, and the interactive multi-criteria decision-making method is used to select the compromise solution to realize efficient optimal allocation of optical storage capacity. The test results show that this method can obtain the Pareto optimal solution set of multi-objective functions in the model. Comprehensive prospect value calculation results are obtained according to each configuration scheme, and a compromise scheme is obtained. The total energy consumption, power deviation rate, light rejection rate, and load loss cost were significantly reduced, with maximum values of 90.5%, 2.03% and 114,700 yuan, respectively, and the load loss probability was lower than 2.2%. The results show that the proposed method can effectively improve the total energy consumption utilization of the microgrid, reduce the power deviation rate and light abandonment rate, and provide significant advantages in different lighting and load demand scenarios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]